Chip Production Rate and Tool Wear Estimation in Micro-EndMilling

abstract: In this research, a new cutting edge wear estimator for micro-endmilling is developed and the reliabillity of the estimator is evaluated. The main concept of this estimator is the minimum chip thickness effect. This estimator predicts the cutting edge radius by detecting the drop in the chip production rate as the cutting edge of a micro- endmill slips over the workpiece when the minimum chip thickness becomes larger than the uncut chip thickness, thus transitioning from the shearing to the ploughing dominant regime. The chip production rate is investigated through simulation and experiment. The simulation and the experiment show that the chip production rate decreases when the minimum chip thickness becomes larger than the uncut chip thickness. Also, the reliability of this estimator is evaluated. The probability of correct estimation of the cutting edge radius is more than 80%. This cutting edge wear estimator could be applied to an online tool wear estimation system. Then, a large number of cutting edge wear data could be obtained. From the data, a cutting edge wear model could be developed in terms of the machine control parameters so that the optimum control parameters could be applied to increase the tool life and the machining quality as well by minimizing the cutting edge wear rate. In addition, in order to find the stable condition of the machining, the stabillity lobe of the system is created by measuring the dynamic parameters. This process is needed prior to the cutting edge wear estimation since the chatter would affect the cutting edge wear and the chip production rate. In this research, a new experimental set-up for measuring the dynamic parameters is developed by using a high speed camera with microscope lens and a loadcell. The loadcell is used to measure the stiffness of the tool-holder assembly of the machine and the high speed camera is used to measure the natural frequency and the damping ratio. From the measured data, a stability lobe is created. Even though this new method needs further research, it could be more cost-effective than the conventional methods in the future.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 201

Design of An Active Workpiece Holder

AbstractMilling is one of the most used machining processes thanks to its high flexibility and high achievable quality. The performance of milling machines is constantly increasing, improving the convenience and increasing the competitiveness of this operation. However, the trend of performance improvement has found a technological limit: self-excited vibrations due to the dynamics of the system machine-workpiece-tooling (i.e. chatter). Chatter is the most dangerous dynamic phenomena that could happen during milling; due to its regenerative nature, it could lead the machine and the tooling system to a heavy fault or to the disruption of the workpiece. This paper develops an active workpiece holder that avoids chatter vibrations by a smart actuation of the workpiece. The design of the workpiece holder is a difficult task due to strict product requirements and the need to create a decoupled structure. The decoupling of the structure is a fundamental requirement of the product because this affects the controllability of the system. Axiomatic Design Theory is used to support the definition of the product requirements and the product architecture. After the definition of the optimal structure of the workpiece, the design features are integrated in order to obtain a functional decoupled structure

A Micro-milling cutting force and chip formation modeling approach for optimal process parameters selection

Las últimas décadas evidencian una demanda creciente por componentes miniaturizados con dimensiones reducidas y tolerancias estrechas, lo cual ha conllevado al desarrollo de la micro y nanotecnología. El micro-fresado, dentro de los procesos de micro-mecanizado, tiene el potencial de ser uno de los procesos de remoción de material más costo-efectivos y eficientes debido a su facilidad de aplicación, variedad de materiales de trabajo y flexibilidad geométrica. Se enfrenta a unos retos complejos debido al efecto de tamaño, vibraciones y otros factores incontrolables. Este estudio analiza dicho proceso orientado hacia desarrollar una mejor comprensión de la mecánica del micro-corte para ser aplicada en la optimización de parámetros de proceso. Se propone un acercamiento al modelado híbrido en forma novedosa, que permite una evaluación numérica a priori para evaluación de fuerzas y esfuerzos, combinado con experimentación para evaluar parámetros relevantes a la industria (formación de rebabas, desgaste de herramientas, entre otros).DoctoradoDoctor en Ingeniería Mecánic

Numerical simulation for milling processes of thin wall structures

Ph

ON THE STABILITY OF VARIABLE HELIX MILLING TOOLS

One of the main aims of the manufacturing industry has been to maximise the material removal rate of machining processes. However, this goal can be restricted by the appearance of regenerative chatter vibrations. In milling, one approach for regenerative chatter suppression is the implementation of variable-helix cutters. However, these tools can lead to isolated unstable regions in the stability diagram. Currently, variable-helix unstable islands have not been extensively researched in the literature. Therefore, the current thesis focuses on studying and experimentally validating these islands. For the validation, an experimental setup that scaled not only the structural dynamics but also the cutting force coefficients was proposed. Therefore, it was possible to attain larger axial depths of cut while assuming linear dynamics. The variable-helix process stability was modelled using the semi-discretization method and the multi-frequency approach. It was found that the variable helix tools can further stabilise a larger width of cut due to the distributed time delays that are a product of the tool geometry. Subsequently, a numerical study about the impact of structural damping on the variable-helix stability diagram revealed a strong relationship between the damping level and instability islands. The findings were validated by performing trials on the experimental setup, modified with constrained layer damping to recreate the simulated conditions. Additionally, a convergence analysis using the semi-discretization method (SDM) and the multi-frequency approach (MFA) revealed that these islands are sensitive to model convergence aspects. The analysis shows that the MFA provided converged solutions with a steep convergence rate, while the SDM struggled to converge. In this work, it is demonstrated that variable-helix instability islands only emerge at relatively high levels of structural damping and that they are particularly susceptible to model convergence effects. Meanwhile, the model predictions are compared to and validated against detailed experimental data that uses a specially designed configuration to minimise experimental error. To the authors' knowledge, this provides the first experimentally validated study of unstable islands in variable helix milling, while also demonstrating the importance of accurate damping estimates and convergence studies within the stability predictions

The comprehensive analysis of milling stability and surface location error with considering the dynamics of workpiece

Cutting movement is still one of the main means to obtain the desired machined surface. As the most representative cutting method in subtractive manufacturing, milling is widely used in industrial production. However, the chatter induced by the dynamic interaction between machine tool and process not only reduces the accuracy of the machined workpiece, but also increases the tool wear and affects the rotary accuracy of the spindle. The stability lobe diagram can provide stable machining parameters for the technicians, and it is currently an effective way to avoid chatter. In fact, the dynamic interaction between the machine tool and process is very complicated, which involves the machine tool, milling tool, workpiece and fixture. The induced mechanism of chatter depends on different machining scenarios and is not entirely dependent on the vibration modes of milling tool. Therefore, it is important to obtain stable machining parameters and to know the dynamic surface location error distribution, which can ensure machining quality and improve machining efficiency. In this dissertation, two methods for constructing stability lobe diagram are first introduced, and then two machining scales, macro milling and micro milling, are studied. For the macro-milling scale, the dynamic response of the in-process workpiece with time-varying modal parameters during the material removal process is analyzed. The stability lobe diagrams for thin-walled workpiece and general workpiece with continuous radial immersion milling are established respectively. Besides, the cumulative surface location error distribution is also studied and verified for the general workpiece. For the micro-milling scale, the dynamics at the micro-milling tool point is obtained by means of the receptance coupling substructure analysis method. The stability lobe diagram and surface location error distribution are analyzed under different restricted/free tool overhang lengths. The relationship between measurement results and burrs is further explained by cutting experiments, and the difference between the two milling scales is compared in the end

A TWO-DIAMETER HELICAL ENDMILL BEAM MODEL FOR TOOL TIP DYNAMICS PREDICTION WITH APPLICATION TO MILLING

The aim of this dissertation is to describe the dynamic response of helical endmill geometries to enable the use of receptance coupling substructure analysis (RCSA) to predict the tool tip vibration response of arbitrary tool-holder-spindle-machine combinations. The tool tip vibration response, or receptance, is a key input for milling stability prediction. Currently, a measurement is required to determine the tool tip receptance for each tool-holder-spindle-machine combination, which may not be possible in production environments. In the RCSA approach, the spindle receptances are measured once and archived, while the tool and holder are modeled. Tool tip receptances are predicted by analytically coupling the tool and holder models, described as equivalent diameter Timoshenko beams, to the archived spindle receptances. In this study, a two-diameter Timoshenko beam model approach is derived and applied to predict the dynamic response of the fluted portion of the endmill geometry